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Bernie Sanders/Single Payer Plan

I understand that Bernie Sanders is about to introduce a proposal for Single Payer Health Care in the US. Now this time I'm not all excited because this being the US, I can't see the plan actually happening....too many interests along the way would block such as they cash in on the lack of human rights/low quality of life in the US.

But the wonderful thing is that these discussions are happening and more and more people are offshoring their health care and going forward, more and more of us are not going to have any other realistic option but to offshore our health care.....the costs are simply getting too high to do otherwise. So some good is coming of Sander's proposal - more awareness of the offshoring of health care out of the US option. It's better than nothing and a nod towards human rights, and more people becoming aware that US health care works against them and not for them. Rob

He was on one of those late night talk shows the other night. (it was in the Trending section of Youtube)
It was a push to get Trump to support medicare for all. (bipartisan) Without that, I expect it will be tabled quickly.

I think the time is not yet right for Bernie and his crew to go full socialist. He doesn't have a plan to pay for it, making it no different than the various state initiatives in California, Vermont and Colorado that failed once ideology met reality.

"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

Health "care" in this country costs twice as much here as it does in comparable countries, with mediocre outcomes. It's far past time to do something about this, but I don't hold out much hope, considering who's in charge.

Health "care" in this country costs twice as much here as it does in comparable countries, with mediocre outcomes. It's far past time to do something about this, but I don't hold out much hope, considering who's in charge.

You are correct that healthcare cost are too high. Many confuse the cost of healthcare to what they personally pay. We need to get the actual root cost down, not just get government to pick up the tab for some.

Health "care" in this country costs twice as much here as it does in comparable countries, with mediocre outcomes. It's far past time to do something about this, but I don't hold out much hope, considering who's in charge.

+1

I think the time is not yet right for Bernie and his crew to go full socialist. He doesn't have a plan to pay for it,

This isn't full socialist, unless you consider these countries that have national healthcare to be full socialist (in green):

1) cut out the middlemen and bean counters who usurp the freedom of medical professionals.
2) establish true value rather than "what the market will bear" (not relevant in a situation where no one person has to bear the expenses)
3) encourage better cost transparency
4) streamline services, saving doctors a ton of money on staff
5) enable a more consistent database minimizing treatment redundancy
6) establish quality controls and better monitoring

How to pay for it? Raise taxes. But consider that those increased taxes that I would pay would be more than offset by the savings I would achieve by not paying into a insurance system with its fractionated, profit-oriented stakeholders.

Again I ask--why are the people in France and Denmark so happy with their healthcare system? Why are we so frustrated by ours?

"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Townwww.silententry.wordpress.com

Health "care" in this country costs twice as much here as it does in comparable countries, with mediocre outcomes. It's far past time to do something about this, but I don't hold out much hope, considering who's in charge.

In Romania the true cost for healthcare isnt measured. Our wonderful guide (who I will probably talk about excessively, he was such a doll!) made it clear that in Romania, when one goes into a hospital, one is expected to pay hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket directly hospital staff who care for a patient.

so for those great European "average" costs of healthcare, gotta remove Romania from the arithmetic mean. Makes me wonder how widespread that practice is, and it is probably not rare among former communist countries with poorly administered social services.

As always the devil is in the details - just because single payer is implemented well elsewhere doesn't mean they would implement it well here.

My nightmare scenario is (especially with our current set of electees) that they would implement a single payer that is horrible for consumers - and gut current Medicare and Medicaid to match it. And again the primary focus would not be healthcare but glomming together enough money for massive tax cuts for the wealthy.